The Mooney Suzuki, the best live band in the world, has signed to Columbia/Sony. They got a new, pink website out of the deal. And they're re-releasing Electric Sweat on March 11. The people on the Velvet Rope are spreading all kinds of rumors...

The Mooney Suzuki is headlining MTV2's 'Advance Warning' spring tour, which, as far as I can tell isn't rolling through Chicago or Detroit. The bands they're with are decent - White Light Motorcade sounds like Supergrass mixed with Our Lady Peace; Longwave is like Bright Eyes if Bright Eyes lived in New York and had the Flaming Lips' production people, and listened to 'Pablo Honey' 600 times; the Raveonettes are from Denmark, all their songs are in Bb minor, and they sound like a less dark Black Rebel Motorcycle Club.

That fucking sucks. I'm going to have to start listening to a band from Saturn that bangs moon rocks together in an effort to actually enjoy an independent-minded group that doesn't end up on a major, handing out awards on MTV2, and selling $45 baby tees at their merch table. What the hell is happening? Rock and roll is no longer sacred, and the shows we saw the Mooney do are now only a memory. Columbia will cancel the Suzuki's spring tour, re-package the band in spiffy vintage tees, and send them out on some bullshit summer package tour where frat guys will laugh at the sentiment behind "Young Man's Mind." Stay tuned for the Mooney Snooz-uki.

I'm really sick of every band I love getting snapped up by a major and turned into bullshit for the masses. I understand that a band needs to make money and can't tour around in the same shitty van eating ramen for the rest of its life just so I can retain indie cred. But what makes me so angry is that it never was as bad as it is now. Majors see a trend and they grab at it so forcefully that it kills the trend before it can even be good for anyone.

They are great live, but I'd back away from saying they are the best live act ever. I saw Sahara Hotnights open for them in Brooklyn, and they were arguably better (when I saw Mooney Suzuki open for the Hives, they blew them off the stage, tho). What is great about them is that they have been playing on these stages where you can really see them rock out and have a great time. Plus, they love interacting with the crowd. what happens when they play venues where that is not so possibble? Mayeb good, maybe not. They were bound to get signed and be big, but maybe their popularity will wane with the masses and in a year or two they'll be back at the Bowery Ballroom. Number One!

Well... saw the Mooney Suzuki the other night at the Bowery Ballroom with what would have to be called an "Industry Crowd". There was a separate line and entrace for the Columbia Records crew. Once inside they had cheesed-out the stag with some new black-power style "Number One" banners and T-shirts and had issued pink foam "Mooney Suzuki Number One" fingers to a lot of the crowd. I got kinda nervous that the whole thing was gonna suck.

Because it semed like a lot of people were there for exposure to the band, and were acting too-cool-for-school it was nice to see everybody kanda get into it, the band is soo good they could win just about anybody over. They came out and rocked... but only for like 35 minutes, WITH the encore. What gives? Plus they got rid of the snake-dance (and the new Number-One hand dance that they did once). Nobody jumped from any speakers and there was less banter withthe audience. It felt kind of like they were mailing it in a little.

At least there won't be all-industry crowds elsewhere. They were still pretty good tho.